Swords and Magic
by HaleighBee
Summary: Len was only supposed to take Rin to get help, he really was. The idea of leaving her behind didn't sit right, so now there they go off with each other. Along with a few others of course. The groups sets out to find out what's happening to their land and then some in-between. Medieval AU LenxRin


Musty air and old books was the smell that filled the old half timbered house. An uncomfortable and stuffy scent to most, but not to the small blonde who was enveloped in an under stuffed comforter. To her, the smell was of home. The only home she's ever wanted to stay in; her safe haven. No matter how hard the girl cocooned in blankets tried to keep the house organized, the hundreds upon hundreds of books that filled every shelf seemed like too big of job for her.

"Mmph," The cocooned caterpillar groaned. The sun had just begun to rise, though she wasn't a morning person, she never failed to get up the moment the sun hit her eyes. She threw her comforter off and was born again for the morning, just as a butterfly.

She went about her daily morning ritual without missing a beat. Starting the morning fire, straightening up books and papers from the night before, watering plants and herbs for potions, the list went on. She hastily changed out of her night clothes and into a beautiful yet very simple deep purple, velvet, dress. Though she wasn't a morning person, she could definitely clean up nicely.

She could finish her morning schedule in minutes, thanks to the fact she was a witch. Studying since she was young, she had become famous around town for her knowledge of the trade. Though it was mostly making medicine or doing odd jobs, she enjoyed being able to do what she could for others.

With the snap of a finger or a flick of the wrist, she could get any small task done.

Grabbing a grey fleece cloak, the blonde ventured out into the world, letting the crisp early autumn air hit her face. She was housed right outside the stronghold Oriel, Oriel being a feminine name meaning "golden". The name greatly described the outside of the city. Wheat grew immensely every year; the most in the country in fact. However, there wasn't any wheat around this time of year. By early autumn, wheat is harvested and sold. Summer is when you can walk right outside the city walls and believe you're walking through gold.

It wasn't a long walk from her cozy home to the stronghold. A hop, skip, and a jump is what her mentor used to say was all it took to be home. The home the girl resided in was also her currently absent mentors study and practice space for magic, a very unfitting home compared to the farms that occupied most all the land outside the city. Her mentor used to have a shop in the city, that is until he took the blonde under his wings. She was a bit clumsier than most when starting out her study of magic, which angered the jarl with all the ruckus and destruction, forcing them to move into the more rural part of Oriel.

She arrived to the large gate which was heavily guarded to protect the city inside. Luckily, she was recognized by the watchman on duty instantly. It helps being the only witch in Oriel, of course. Upon entering the city it was more busy and crowded than normal because of the merchants coming in and out to trade for freshly harvested wheat. Oriel had it's name for a reason, so this time of year was both a blessing and a nightmare for locals. Not only was it busy from of the wheat, but it was also the beginning of a new season, which meant executions. Every stronghold had it's own executions, but Oriel had a sick way of dealing with them. There was a stadium like area where the executions would take place and everyone could watch, not a very humane way of dealing with it the girl always thought.

"Rin!" a squeaky voice called out from the crowd. The petite blonde searched the crowd for the familiar voice and caught the magenta corkscrew pigtails that came with the voice, "Rin, there you are!"

"Teto, good morning. I was contemplating whether I would come visit or not today." The girl, Rin, greeted.

"Ha, yeah I know, it's crazy around here today! I somehow sneaked out of the bakery before dad noticed. I'm sure I'm going to get an earful for leaving the busiest time of year, but I'd rather get yelled at than be bombarded by customers who don't even appreciate my fake kindness." She joked. The two had been long time friends since Rin first arrived to Oriel many years back. "Would you like some company while shopping?"

"Sure, I would love some," Rin laughed and offered her arm for Teto, who immediately hooked arms along with her. The two walked along the stoned path to the stalls which were crowded with people.

"What all do you need?" Teto asked.

"I was thinking of making some potato soup, it goes good with some fresh bread. Plus it's one of Dell's favorites this time of year."

Teto slowed her tracks down and showed a face of concern for her friend. "You still think about Dell? You know he's not coming back. It's been years."

"The note he left me said he would be back as soon as he could and to have a meal waiting for him for when he returns. He's my mentor, so making a meal is the least I can do." Rin replied confidently. "I can't wait for the day he comes back and see's all I've learned just on my own!"

"You're so stubborn, for all that you know he could already be dead. I don't think you should really consider him your mentor anymore either, at this point you're an independent mage or witch or whatever. You've worked so hard for yourself!"

Rin knew she was right, but she wasn't going to admit that to anyone. She continued to walk looking helplessly at the ground. She always thought that Dell would come back for her and tell her she had passed some wacky test he had conjured up, but after the first few years she had slowly began to lose faith that he would be coming back. "I have to have faith in the person that got me to where I am. I think I'm just going to buy my groceries and go home to study."

"What? But you're going to miss the executions, they should be starting any minute now."

"You know I'm not a fan of people's heads being chopped off right in front of me, disgusting. Are you going?"

"I just like to see what kind of people end up getting caught. I'm not a fan of the slaughtering, but I guess if you do the crime you get what you have coming for you." Teto sighed.

Rin had always been opposed to the way Teto thought, she knew the monarchy was corrupt. She knew the people being executed were wrongfully accused or being executed for petty crimes. All for citizens amusement and to put on a facade that everyone was protected, or at least to keep everyone in check. Make everyone aware that one wrong move, and that could be them.

"Could you at least come with me to see the people being executed? I promise the moment they begin, we'll leave." The magenta haired friend promised.

"...Fine, but we're leaving right when they start." She begrudgingly agreed. Teto excitedly tightened her hold on Rin's arm and dragged her to the coliseum where the executions took place at the start of every season. It was normally used for town meetings and traveling theater groups, but not today.

"Wow, it's so crowded. I guess wheat isn't the only reason travelers are here today."

"I guess. Let's just find a spot where we can be in and out fast." Rin said in an irritated tone.

"Oh! This is a good spot! You can see them all lined up perfectly." Teto piped excitedly. It was the normal line up, presents and shady people of the sorts. It was always people who wouldn't be terribly missed. Rin didn't bother looking, she saw no point in it. "Rin, don't you think that boy with the blond hair looks out of place?"

Rin peeked up and spotted him immediately, he was young and clean unlike the others lined up. Very unusual, but there was sometimes a person who was out of place. "What do you think he did, Rin? He's kind of cute, too bad he's about to get axed."

"That's an awful thing to say, Teto! Let's go, it should be starting any minute." Rin did glance up at him again, and Teto wasn't wrong. He was attractive. Blond hair tied in a short ponytail, messy bangs, a smooth face. But soon that would all go to waste.

"Hold on, I haven't looked at them all yet! We'll go the minute the jarl comes out."

The blonde grumbled and crossed her arms impatiently, but Rin noticed a strange rumbling. She searched the faces of people around her to see if they had the same reaction to the unnatural occurrence, but none of them showed any other expression other than excitement. "Did I imagine that?" She asked herself aloud.

Then the strange thing happened again, it was a slight shake of the ground. "Teto," She grasped her friends arm in slight fear, but Teto was still gawking at her surroundings. "Hey, Teto, did you feel that?"

"Feel what?" She asked confused. Maybe she had imagined it?

"Attention all citizens, welcome to the executions!" The jarl came out and announced, making the crowds of people cheer to their hearts content.

"Are you ready to go?" Teto asked her now confused friend. Rin waited to see if she could feel the ground shake again, but it was too hectic to be able to make anything out.

"Yes let's go-"

 **CRASH**

Everyone's cheers of excitement turned to horror, Rin was dragged onto the ground along with Teto and didn't catch what had caused the crash. The sound of a vicious and deep roar made it obvious of what it was though.

"DRAGON!" People were screaming in horror and escaping the coliseum, it was hard for the two to get up from the ground with everyone trampling over one another to get out to safety.

"Rin, let's run back to the bakery, my parents will be worried sick about me and it's not safe for you to be alone!"

She stumbled up off the cobblestone ground hastily, but stopped when she saw the said dragon in all its mighty glory; she was mesmerized.

"Rin, come on!" She tugged on her friend's arm, but Rin could not take her eyes off of the destruction in front of her.

"Teto, you have to go ahead."

"What?! I'm not leaving you, you're crazy! Let's go!" She tugged harder but Rin quickly ripped her arm from Teto's grip and ran towards danger. Teto was confused and didn't know whether to go after her friend or save herself. She had no idea what Rin was doing, but she trusted her to make smart decisions.

Rin ran ahead to the fire breathing reptilian, she didn't know what she was doing exactly. Maybe an adrenaline rush to see what was going on? It's not everyday you see a dragon. As she got closer her heart was pumping faster and louder, but it was exciting. She was so close to it, it was all so new. She had lived her life in a shell of studying magic and housework, now was her chance to break out.

She had one spell in mind that would help the situation, though it was a higher level one that she had yet to fully master, she figured it was worth a shot. She situated herself and concentrated all her energy on her spell, lifting a hand out toward the beast that then looked to her.

"What the hell are you doing?!" A masculine voice bellowed, Rin didn't have time to react before a boy had grabbed her by the waist and ran for it.

"What're you doing!? I was just about to help!" Rin flustered, trying to release herself from the boys grip.

"This is the first time a dragon's appeared in centuries, nobody knows how to help!" He shouted and continued to the city walls, however it was impossible to get out with people clustering at the wall gates. "Dammit." He muttered in frustration, there was no way for them to get out.

"Could you please let me go?" Rin grumbled in embarrassment, his arms still clasped around her.

"In a second, I know a way out!" He let go of her waist and instead grabbed onto her wrists and ran away from the crowds. She didn't want to follow along but he seemed like he knew a way out. He dragged her through back alleys, occasional tripping over his own feet. They eventually ended back at the wall, there was nothing but a few barrels and scarce trash. He quickly let go of her to push the barrels out to reveal an opening through the wall.

"This can't be legal." Rin said aloud, mostly distressed but slightly amused. She always followed the rules, so to see someone breaking them...

He smiled, "Yeah, it's not. But it came in hand-" He stopped mid sentence as the ground shook violently, "It's getting angry." His smile fell into concern. He snatched Rin's hand and ran out into the now barren wheat fields.

"W-Where are we going?" Rin asked, suddenly realizing she couldn't just go home and might not ever be able to looking at the current situation.

"We're headed toward Nirmaya, it's the closest stronghold to here and I know someone there that can help."

"Help what? Do you know what's going on?" Rin asked anxiously, "I need to go back home to get things if we're going somewhere!"

"There is literally a dragon attacking! There's no time to make a stop for anything!"

Rin broke a little inside. All her research, books, and things; gone. All she could do was hope the dragon didn't destroy her home and that she would eventually come back.

They continued to run until they were in the thicket of woods, far from Oriel. The heavy roars of the dragon could still be heard along with smoke that could be seen drifting to the sky. The two had made it a ways out, Rin couldn't remember the last time she ran that much and had trouble catching her breath. The boy on the other hand looked like he could run another mile.

"We've still got a while till we get to Nirmaya, we'll walk as far as we can till night." He explained aloud and began walking again.

"Um, w-wait." Rin called out, halting him in his tracks. He turned and waited for her to speak. "I have a lot of questions."

"Oh," He smiled in slight embarrassment, "My mistake, I guess I just dragged you along. Sorry about that, you looked kind of lost so I felt the need to help."

"You look familiar..." She stared at his features for a moment before it clicked, "You're one of the people who were going to be executed!" She exclaimed in fear and surprise.

"I am but you've got it all wrong! I'm not going to hurt you, I-I promise!" He defended himself hastily. She looked him up and down. He didn't seem like someone who would cause a major crime, not to get executed at least.

"I don't know if I trust that statement of yours, but I don't have a choice, huh? Could you at least tell me your name? Who are you?" She asked cautiously.

"Yes, of course! My name's Len and I'm a mercenary, so I don't stay in one place too long. If it makes you feel any better, the reason I was in the execution line up was because I snuck into the city without clearance or paying and got caught. That's it, I didn't hurt anyone and I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. I was just running low on money and couldn't afford to get in." He spoke tenderly looking into her eyes for sincerity. She didn't know what to think of Len, but he seemed to be winning her over fairly easily, "And you?"

"Me?" She asked in surprise.

He smirked, "Yeah you. I told you who I was, now it's your turn. Since we're sharing."

"O-Oh. Um, well there's not much to say about me.." She stared at the ground, her words drifting off. She looked back up to see his kind eyes baring down at her to find an answer.

"Why so shy?" He asked curiously.

"People don't talk to me much, I'm not used to the attention." She lied to hi effortlessly. Rin talks to people all the time, but not people like him. He was different to her. She felt a connection to him like she never felt with anyone else, as cheesy at it sounded. "My name is Rin, I've lived in Oriel most of my life. I haven't left in years so I'm still in shock right now, sorry."

"I see. I'm sorry this is all happening for you so suddenly, Rin." Hearing him say her name sent a small chill up her spine, "But we better get to Nirmaya while we have a chance."

"So Len," She tried out his name, and Len got a similar chill to hers, "Why are we going to Nirmaya? I know you said it was the closest stronghold, but you also said someone there would be able to help?"

"Well, someone to help me more than you. One of the guards were pretty rough with me after I was caught and I think I broke my rib. All I know is that it hurts and I'd rather not wait around for it to get worse. I know a great healer in Nirmaya who can heal it quickly. Plus, it's important that we tell a higher up about the dragon attack, hopefully they'll believe us. It's important the monarchs are aware of the situation. Hopefully they find out by word and not action." Len explained leaning against a tree, "Who would've thought a dragon would attack?"

"Do you think people got out alive?" Rin asked with concern heavy in her voice, she was worried about Teto and all the people she knew.

"I dunno. I've never experienced a dragon attack before, but if I didn't know about the hidden hole in the wall then I'm sure we would've been toast. Literally." He chuckled lightly, but Rin had horror written all over her face.

"I have to go back!" Rin cried and started marching back towards Oriel.

"What do you mean you're going back? You can't!" He wanted to laugh, he honestly thought she was joking, but the look on her face told him otherwise.

"Yes I can, I have people there I care about, what if they're dying-"

"You'll die if you go back, you can't!"

"Why do you care what I do?"

"Do you know how guilty I would feel if I let someone walk into death? I can't let you go back, let's go to Nirmaya!"

"No!" Rin cried in a panic, whipping her entire body around to face him, "I've got to go back! I have people I care about. I can't let them go, I need to know that they're okay or-or-" She felt tears begin to well up in her eyes. "What do I do?" She whimpered, not knowing if anyone really knew that answer. The tears began to spill out uncontrollably.

Len gripped her shoulder firmly, "Look at me." He demanded calmly, it took a moment but she did. "Not knowing is scary, but for now you need to be selfish. For now you need to look out for yourself. I'm going to take you to Nirmaya, and you'll be safe. For now, worry about yourself."

His words seemed to help, as painfully true as they were. The tears slowly stopped and she wiped away the stray ones, "Okay." Rin nodded solemnly, "I don't want to go to Nirmaya, I don't want to leave the people I know behind. But I'll go with you for now. I'll follow you till we get there. I don't know what I'll do once I get there, but I'll follow you, and I promise it."

He let go of her shoulders, dragging his hands down to hers, holding them to give her comfort, "Thank you. I'll help you once we get there, I know a few people in Nirmaya. I promise we'll figure this out, come on." He gestured for her to follow and she did just that, walking beside him.


End file.
